U.S. Environmental Protection AgencyThe U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has recently announced 75 enforcement actions from the past year that require renovation contractors and training providers to protect people from harmful exposure to lead dust and debris, as required by EPA's Lead-based Paint Renovation, Repair, and Painting regulations.
Seventy-five settlements were filed from October 2014 through September 2015 for renovations performed on pre-1978 homes and child-care facilities, and each requires that the alleged violator certify its compliance with RRP regulations to EPA and, in most cases, pay civil penalties to resolve the alleged violations. The violations cited in the settlements reflect EPA's goal to reduce illegal and unsafe renovations, and the lead hazards risks that result from them.
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Washington ExaminerThe White House released an overdue report on the cost of regulations that shows that the Environmental Protection Agency dominates all other agencies in both benefits and costs, as well as the number of regulations.
EPA is number one on costs, ranging from $37.6 billion to $45.4 billion from 2004 to 2014 in 2010 dollars. The second most costly agency is the Department of Transportation, ranging from $8.5 billion to $16.3 billion; third, the Department of Energy, ranging from $6.3 billion to $9.0 billion.READ MORE

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BuilderThe National Association of Home Builders held its annual Fall Construction Forecast Webinar Oct. 21, where economists predicted a strong increase in the amount of new single-family homes built in the next two years.
Using data extrapolated from 1990, Robert Denk, a senior economist at NAHB, said the average number of single-family starts in a given year is 1.3 million, which was the mark in the early 2000's. The amount of home starts jumped to 1.7 million in 2006 and then sank to about 350,000 in 2009 after the housing bubble burst. Since then, housing starts have risen, and currently, Denk said, the market is churning out around 740,000 of them — 53 percent of the long-term average.READ MORE

AllBusinessSmall business owners face a number of unique concerns that entrepreneurs of older, more established firms don't have to worry about. The biggest concern? Budgeting.
Small businesses tend to be less established, leading to uncertain revenue projections, volatile operational practices and little room for flexibility between revenue and expenses. As a result, expenses that are seen as "superfluous," like marketing, tend to get cut.READ MORE

Safety + Health MagazineSaying a "growing influx of new and inexperienced workers" is contributing to an increase in the number of U.S. construction deaths, the Associated General Contractors of America and Carolinas Associated General Contractors have issued a 13-step plan aimed at reversing the trend of construction worker fatalities. These are the steps, as worded by AGC of America.READ MORE

Forbes"I'm proud to pay taxes in the United States," ukulele-wielding entertainer Arthur Godfrey once said. "The only thing is, I could be just as proud for half the money."
Some business owners take the sentiment too far. They fall for a misguided tax scheme, get in trouble with the IRS and pay twice the money rather than half. There aren't enough ukulele gigs in the world to make up for that.
It's not always easy to distinguish between smart tax planning, aggressive tax strategies and downright tax evasion. With the help of a trusted adviser, a business owner can review a tax strategy and decide whether to proceed.
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Construction DiveAustrian architect Wolf D. Prix, who is using robots in the construction of his Museum of Contemporary Art and Planning Exhibition project in Shenzhen, China, said that combining robotics and 3-D printing could make building complex structures significantly easier and could be the key to solving the global refugee crisis.
The Coop Himmelb(l)au founder said that using robots to assemble 3-D-printed prefabricated parts could speed up the building of refugee housing while keeping the process economical.
Prix emphasized that robots and 3-D printing have their place alongside traditional building methods, and he said he believes their use will give architects more freedom to invent and investigate new aesthetics, Dezeen reported.
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Construction Equipment GuideAnyone familiar with construction sites knows they are dangerous places. Changing conditions, heavy moving machinery, intense labor concentrations — construction sites have everything that makes safety engineers shudder. The sad news is that, in 2014, workplace fatalities increased, including among construction and mining workers.
Consequently, some advocates of workplace safety want more rules and more stringent enforcement of them. Others note that tighter OSHA rules and stricter enforcement haven't worked miracles to this point and suggest other solutions, such as more education to change workers' mindsets.READ MORE